Gingerbread men - FMS50

We are all very excitedly waiting for the Holiday Catalogue to begin on Saturday and today I have made up a "sneak peak" of a cute stamp set that is in there, Scentsational Season. What is even better is that this little set of six stamps has matching framelits dies for cutting out the images. On top of that, Stampin' Up bundled them together for a super-saving of 15%!

I chose the gingerbread man image for this card, and joined their hands with Real Red brads. Following the sketch this week from Freshly Made Sketches I layered gorgeous patterned paper Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack. This is a smaller pad, 11.4cm by 16.5cm, but it contains 48 double-sided designs, 4 of each of the 12 designs. It is a very economical way to get a great variety of papers!

The red herringbone is the reverse of this sweet blue paper.

The greeting is from a set called Perfect Punches, it's been around for a while and as the name suggests, all these greetings match with a punch. There's this one for Christmas, and a fabulous 'happy birthday' which nestles in an oval , 'Thanks' in a scalloped oval and a few others too.

 Now don't foget to pop on over to Freshly Made Sketches if you're looking for inspiration!

Happy stamping
Rachel

Sneak a peek at Holiday stamps

I'm so excited now that I have my holiday pre-order in my hands!!!

On page 28-29 of our Holiday catalogue is a stamp set Perfectly Preserved, designer series paper Orchard Harvest and framelits dies to cut 7 of the stamps out on the Big Shot. If I hadn't seen this set of stamps demonstrated at the Canberra Convention, back in May, I probably wouldn't have given them a second look BUT after seeing the cute ways to use these stamps they went on to my "Must Have" list. (it gets pretty long, lol!!)

Now I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, before I've made anyof those ideas up, 'cos you need a surprise too, but when I saw the cute sketch by Jen Mitchell over at Freshly Made sketches this idea popped into my head. I've used a new In-colour, Raspberry Ripple and embossed it with a new embossing folder Lacy Brocade from the Holiday Catty, and cut a shape from some Orchard Harvest paper, then decided just to use a sliver of the shape and a strip of the new stitched satin ribbon in Gumball Green. This ribbon is so soft and silky, gorgeous and comes in all five new In-Colours, so as well as the two I've mentioned already, there is Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals and Summer Starfruit.

I inked the cherries stamp with Stampin write markers, Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple and Soft Suede, huffed on them and stamped. Then, just for a touch of cuteness, I used the tiny heart shaped stamp which says "love" (too hard to see in pic) out of  I (Heart) Hearts, retiring in a week, but still available and "sweet" from Fabulous Phrases (page 133). The tiny red heart is a leftover from the Owl builder punch, I'm always gathering them up and saving them for other projects, they're so tiny and cute.Punched everything out with the one inch circle punch, then some Gumball Green circles with the one & a quarter punch and mounted them along the bottom of the card, with dimensionals.

Now that you've finished here, why not pop on over to get lots more wonderful inspiration at Freshly Made Sketches and have a lovely weekend,

Rachel

Wedding card

I have been a bit distracted lately with the arrival firstly of my pre-order for the new annual catalogue and then a few days later with the pre-order for the Holiday Catalogue, both due to go on sale on September 1st. This means I have been thinking about and making samples for a catalogue launch, as well as finishing a lot of half done scrapbooking and cards. Only trouble is, I am never finished, because something new keeps getting started!

I think it is time for a challenge, and I have chosen the Dynamic Duos challenge: River Rock and Black with the option to use brads.

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My wedding card is 5.25 inches square on a black base, with a second layer from River Rock in Neutrals designer series paper pack. The Very Vanilla has been stamped in River Rock ink with a floral design from Elements of Style (page 113) and a little greeting from a retired stamp. I mounted the Very Vanilla on a square of Basic Black card and lay a strip of black across the card too. On top of that is a strip of crochet ribbon, and a scattering of pearls on the flower centres.

Inside is fairly plain, just a strip of River Rock stripe scalloped and laid across the bottom of the Very Vanilla insert, and a greeting from Love and Laughter, which reappears in our annual catalogue on page 38. It was in our Autumn-Winter mini and must have proved its worth to be carried over. The greetings are useful for wedding and engagement cards, and I have even used the little trio of flowers to edge a birthday card.

Maybe you have been inspired to try this colour combination. Why not go to dynamic duos and check out the other submissions?

Unavailable Now from the Retiring list

Those of you who have made early orders will be feeling very pleased with yourselves now, as some of your choices are showing up as unavailable. However, there is still just over a week to go to snap up some of these retiring items, you can contact me to order phone 0417 500 681 or email me.

**If you live anywhere in Australia you can order from me and your order will be delivered right to your door**

Peach Parfait Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
Concord Crush Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
More Mustard Stampin' Write Marker
3/16" Gold Brads
Mini Library clips
Dotto Refill
Crimper
Stampin around standard wheel storage
Stack n Store Containers
Stampin' Scrub Replacement Pads
Well Worn Designer Series Paper
Card Stock A4 Confetti White
Cardstock A4 Blushing Bride
Cardstock A4 Concord Crush
replacement cutting blades (for trimmer)
Circle Scissor Plus Replacement Blades
Five Petal Flower Punch
Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlet dies

Stamp Sets:
Wood Christmas Greetings
D is for dog
Short and sweet
God's Blessings
Calendar alphabet & numbers
Curvy Verses

Neutrals Classic Stampin' spots
Brights Classic Stampin' Pads
Subtles Classic Stampin' Pads
Early Espresso Stampin' Pad
Basic Gray Stampin' Pad

Turtles for a birthday & updated retiring unavailability

This morning there were a number of items added to the lists of items no longer available, so if you are planning to grab something before it retires at the end of the month, it might pay to contact me soon.
Email or txt/phone 0417 500 681. I can ship to anywhere in Australia. Company policy is all orders incur a shipping charge of 5% or $5.95, whichever is greater, but it can be posted directly to you. Payment by credit card, direct deposit to my bank account or cash in person (South Morang, VIC is where I live)


Stampin’ Scrub Replacement Pads
Blushing Bride ink refill
Blushing Bride A4 smooth card stock
Pear Pizzazz ink refill
Poppy Parade ink refill
Dotto refill
Concord Crush ink refill
More Mustard Marker
3/16″ Gold Brads
Pear Pizzazz ink refill
Poppy Parade ink refill
Stack & Store Containers
Circle cutter replacement blades
Confetti White CS A4
Stampin' around standard wheel storage
Color Caddy Extender kit
5-petal flower punch
Short and Sweet stamp set
 And Friday morning 10th August
Concord Crush A4 card stock
D is for dog stamp set
17th August
Just Surfing stamp set
Curvy Verses stamp set
Calendar alphabet and numbers
Well Worn Designer Series Paper
mini library clips
Timeless Types Junior Alphabet medium sizzlets dies

I submitted an order on Sunday night, but the warehouse is so overwhelmed by the volume of orders, I haven't been notified that mine has been packed yet, and I have orders for customers for some of the items appearing on this list. Of course, I will let you know as soon as I hear anything definite, and your money will be refunded if it affects your order.

Now for a little card using one stamp from Fox and Friends

**retiring at the end of August if not sold out earlier**

Next Sunday, a young lady is celebrating her 20th birthday and this young lady is very much against pink!

I didn't need to think for long to come up with what she does like - turtles! Live ones, that is. In fact,she is hoping to receive a turtle as a birthday gift next week. I'm not too sure if that wish will actually come true, but I decided to pull out one of my favorite retiring stamp sets, Fox and Friends and make this little card, with THREE turtles, which will be how many she is looking after if her wish comes true.

I used White Confetti card as the base and one layer of Always Artichoke and Island Indigo. The turtles were stamped in Wild Wasabi, but it lacked interest to my way of thinking. I stamped another turtle, cut him out and inked around the edges before using a Stampin Dimensional to raise him up. Added in some grass, a nice cloudy sky and stamped out the label frame from Tea Shoppe, before finding an old retired greeting which fits perfectly. I had a scrap of card lying on my work table, Pool Party toned with the sky, so added that for a bit more detail and then a couple of brads.

And this is a crazy card I envisioned as the anaesthetic wore off four weeks ago! I was feeling so inspired I had to ask the nurse for a piece of paper and pencil so I could jot all my inspiration down. Hehehe!

Hope you are all finding time for stamping, till next time

Rachel

CCMC212 - Color Challenge

I've made a few cards today, including another masculine one for this challenge. All good, until I double-checked the colours!!

I used a large amount of the wrong shade of red and forgot about Sahara Sand, using Basic Gray instead.OOOPS!!!

A lovely card never-the-less to add to my samples, and even this one has had a slight adjustment made after I photographed it.

Just one of those days I think.

Secretly, I wanted to be at Melbourne (Vic, Australia) Regionals today, but it is only three weeks since I had surgery and I am not permitted to drive, nor am I really fit enough for that much excitement just yet.

With our new catalogue release less than a month away, I think I am safe to use Fabulous Florets, a very popular stamp returning from the Summer mini. I stamped in black Stazon onto First Edition DSP and cut it out with the Framelits Labels Collection and also used two consecutive sizes to cut the black frame. After stamping two different blossoms from Fabulous Florets onto Real Red, I fussy cut by hand, inked the edges of the petals and curled them this way and that way with a file from the Distressing Kit (retiring this month). After popping a mini glue dot on the back, I positioned the three flowers.

The shaped panel is raised on Stampin Dimensionals and sits on a square of Sahara Sand dry embossed with Perfect Polka Dots. Now, originally I had stamped the small label from Apothecary Art and cut it with the matching die. It has Faux mother-of-pearl  sponged with Shimmer Paint and tiny pearls in the centre of the teeny flowers but it photographed so badly (too sombre by far) so I decided to quickly change the tag before the light faded too much to take another photo. I think the one above, with that extra touch of Real Red in the Boho Blossom is the better version - what do you think?

Just a close-up of my fussy cut flowers - this size is fiddly but look quite good.

Now, hop on over to Create with Connie and Mary and see what everyone has made for this color challenge here.

And hopefully, I will soon hear some news/see some photos of todays event,

enjoy the weekend

Rachel

Retiring Christmas stamps sets

CHRISTMAS (in August?)

I know not many of you have ventured into making your own Christmas cards yet, except for Lynne,  but I love it and wondered if I could spark your enthusiasm?

It just so happens that the two stamp sets I used for my cards last Christmas are on the Retiring list, and what's more, have been reduced in price too!  The Baja Breeze card on the left, using Dasher is on page 15 of the catalog and was always a great buy at $14.95, even better now at $11.21! All but one of those single stamps on pages 14 & 15 are retiring but the only other one reduced is Something for Christmas, at $14.96, also a very versatile stamp for your Christmas cards.

The two cards on the right were made with Something for Christmas, a set of 8 stamps, which you can use to make a huge range of different cards. It is only available in wood mount and had been retailing at $51.95, now it's been reduced to$38.96 and you can check it out on page 25 of the current catalog, where you will also see a different example of it made up. It needn't be just for Christmas either as it has a gorgeous swirl, a couple of flowers and a star with 'hand stamped' underneath which is perfect for marking your cards as 'one offs' by you.



And just an update on what has sold out so far........
 Peach Parfait ink refill
Dotto refill
Concord Crush ink refill
Crimper
More Mustard Marker
3/16″ Gold Brads
Pear Pizzazz ink refill

Hope everyone has a pleasant weekend ahead, I will be stamping. Surprise, surprise!

Rachel



Time to Say Goodbye

Going, Going, Gone!

Hi everyone

Prepare yourself, as I have really rambled on in this post!

Now is the time that Stampin' Up release the lists of soon to be retired stamps, colours and accessories and I have noticed many favourites on the list. If you have been thinking of getting that certain stamp set "when I have the money" or "when I need to make a lot of birthday cards" now might be the time to check the retiring list here. There are discounts to be had on some stamp sets, lots of the Designer Series Paper (it all changes for the next catalogue on September 1st), ribbon and stamp pads. You should be able to click on the Going, Going, Gone heading in blue to connect to the page or there is a gadget on the sidebar to your right with  "Retired List" which should also take you to the page with 2 PDF files.
Otherwise  ring or email me and I'll try to locate details for you.

Often items sell out in a matter of days after the list is released, so if there is something you MUST have, let me know as soon as possible.

Clearly For You

 Retiring In Colors

The colours being retired are amongst some of my favourites; Poppy Parade, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush and Peach Parfait. A mixed pack of 20 sheets (four sheets of each of the five colors) A4 size has been reduced to $8.37 (was $13.95) and I would expect it to sell out quickly. This little card (above) uses Pear Pizzazz with Blushing Bride (both retired) and the smallest amount of Rose Red. The stamps are from Clearly For You (Wood 123551, clear 121976), a lovely set with 12 stamps, some small, some medium-sized. I stamped onto Vanilla card, then punched images out with my 1" square punch before mounting onto pieces of Pear Pizzazz punched with the Postage Stamp Punch. This stamp set is on page 88 of your current catalog and has been reduced by 25% to $35.96 for wood and $29.21 for clear.

Lace Ribbon Border Punch & Butterfly Print Stamp Set, Butterfly Punch

I'm sad to say goodbye to the Lace Ribbon Border Punch (122362) too, you can do so many things with this punch. It has been reduced 40% to $23.37. I made this sweet card for my friend Lauretta's 50th birthday last March, and it was perfect for her, with a little bit of 'bling' on the flower centres and butterfly bodies.

Butterfly Prints (wood 117711, clear120738) page 66, has three different prints, the houndstooth, typed words, and a swirly floral, and it has a matching punch (reduced 25% to $25.46) to make the cutting out easier. All the punches are on pages 150 through to 154. In my opinion, SU punches are superb, good quality and there are so many inspiring ways to use them.

Fox and Friends

We wave goodbye to Fox and Friends too. It's such a good set for welcoming babies and for childrens birthdays, and even for the friend who has a "thing" for owls or turtles! Page 58 of the current catalog, (wood 119165, clear118565). I am still not finished with it, sadly, but if you too think this is a great set you really need to own, it is time to order it now. 

Under the Big Top

And another one that I've only just started using is Under the Big Top Page 33(wood 125032, clear122877) but I found out recently how good it is for watercolouring.

Baroque Motifs

And the last retired set I will tell you about this post is Baroque Motifs, a set very dear to me as my mother gave it to me, before she passed away 3 ½ years ago. It has a lovely large swirl which I think is perfect for wedding cards, I clear embossed it on my example below. "Cherish" and "Kind" are words included with this stamp set, there are 6 in the set, check it out on page 92 available only in wood ( 11640) and not reduced but still reasonably priced at $39.95.

Ink Pads

All the ink pads are listed because they are being reconfigured so after September 1st they'll be a firm foam ink pad instead of the felt covered ones we have now.  Same colours - with 5 new In Colors to replace the 5 retiring this month.  There are some good buys amongst that lot if you are wanting to build up your colour range as they have been reduced by at LEAST 25%, most of the In Color range is right down to $7.17, even colours like Pool Party, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral and Wisteria Wonder which remain current for another 12 months. Not only that, they are gorgeous, useable shades!   Another bargain in the ink pads I thought was the set of Classic Stampin' Pads in Neutrals. There are 8 colors in this set (no Whisper White or Very Vanilla) and you can have all these for $59.96, about $7.50 EACH!!
The cases are the same shape so they'll still fit in the caddy.

I know this has been a very long post, but I really wanted you to be aware of the savings to be had, so I hope you don't mind too much. Please get in touch if I can help in any way, you can pay for your order by credit card, bank direct deposit or cash. I will be ordering Sunday evening for anyone who wants to jump in quickly.

In the meantime, happy stamping,

Rachel